World Golf Tour

Koepka can secure PGA Tour status at Pinehurst

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PINEHURST, N.C. – Brooks Koepka’s nomadic journey from the European Tour’s secondary circuit to the PGA Tour is now down to one top-17 finish.

The young American, who turned professional in 2012 and set out on the Challenge Tour in his climb to the game’s biggest stage, is currently tied for second place at Pinehurst.

If he were to finish alone in 17th place this week, it would earn him enough FedEx Cup points to secure his status on the PGA Tour next season and a full schedule for the rest of this year. Not that he is spending much time thinking about it.

“I never pay attention to any of that,” said Koepka, sitting at 2 under for the championship after a second-round 68. “Nothing ever bothers me and I’m not going to stress over that. Never.”

Koepka secured special temporary status with his tie for 21st at the Zurich Classic in April, but still needs to earn enough to finish inside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings (about 425 points) to claim his 2014-15 Tour card.

Koepka, who already has full status on the European Tour, currently plans to play the French Open and either the Scottish Open or John Deere Classic in the coming weeks. That is unless things change dramatically on Sunday at Pinehurst.

Although a 17th-place finish or better would assure him more starts in the United States, he would need to win a Tour event to earn a spot in this year’s FedEx Cup playoffs.